Academy Report: Kean bags Spa podium in dramatic FREC weekend

Our Japanese-Slovak racer continues strong rookie campaign with another podium finish in challenging Spa conditions

Published

01 JUN 2026

Est. reading time

2 min

Kean Nakamura-Berta once again emerged with a strong haul of points despite tricky conditions to deal with at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps.

The Atlassian Williams F1 Team Driver Academy member secured a podium finish in the opening race of the weekend before adding another top-five in the final outing, keeping himself firmly in championship contention after three rounds.

Keep reading to find out more about his weekend.

Kean Nakamura-Berta

Formula Regional European Championship

Kean kept in close order throughout race 1, played out in tricky conditions...

Kean Nakamura-Berta continued his impressive rookie Formula Regional European Championship campaign with another podium finish during a chaotic weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.

After a difficult opening practice session left him P19, the Japanese-Slovak driver responded immediately in qualifying, securing P3 on the grid for the weekend’s opening race.

Originally scheduled for Saturday morning, the race was postponed due to poor weather before eventually taking place in the afternoon, with the reverse grid race 2 cancelled entirely.

Despite three Safety Car interruptions and constant spray throughout the race, Kean remained firmly in the fight at the front. Running in the leading group throughout, he applied pressure in the closing stages and crossed the line in P3 – less than half a second away from victory.

The podium marked another important result in what has already been a highly encouraging start to his first full FREC campaign.

The remainder of the weekend proved more difficult, with Kean qualifying in P11 for the final race of the weekend.

He recovered strongly, climbing through the order to secure P5 and another valuable points finish despite two late Safety Car interruptions bringing the race to a close under caution.

The results leave Kean P3 in the championship standings on 81 points, just 13 points away from the championship lead heading into the next round of the season.

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1 JUN 2026

Academy Report: Kean bags Spa podium in dramatic FREC weekend

Our Japanese-Slovak racer continues strong rookie campaign with another podium finish in challenging Spa conditions

ARTICLE

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